Private sector demands transparency after Integrity Commission refers Wheatley for prosecution

Jamaica's leading private-sector groups are pressing for openness, accountability, and restored public confidence after the Integrity Commission recommended that Cabinet Minister Dr. Andrew Wheatley face criminal charges.

The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce said it respects the commission's constitutional role but argued the case shows corruption allegations must be resolved quickly and transparently. The chamber also called for a review of Jamaica's anti-corruption framework, including whether dedicated anti-corruption courts should be established.

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica urged Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness and Dr. Wheatley to consider seriously whether the minister should step aside until the matter is fully settled. Both bodies stressed due process and the presumption of innocence while insisting that trust in governance institutions must be protected.

Superintendent Petra Row, who heads the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, said synthetic narcotics are an emerging challenge, with traffickers increasingly using legitimate shipping channels to move drugs onto the island. Officers are making seizures almost daily. Since the start of the year, authorities have seized 7,322 tablets—about 34% below the pace at this point last year, when more than 11,000 tablets had already been recovered and the annual total exceeded 13,000. "We're seizing drugs every day. We're talking about cocaine [and] synthetic drugs," Row said.

Priscilla Duhanei, spokesperson for the advocacy group Hear the Children's Cry, warned that a coordinated online bullying network targeting students in St. James is leaving children fearful and families overwhelmed. She said the abuse no longer ends when the school day is over and called for a stronger national response. "Cyber bullying is never something that we can take lightly," she said, adding that although the problem is concentrated in one area, it can spread rapidly to schools across Jamaica.

Under an agreement with the United States, the Ministry of National Security will accept 25 third-country nationals every two weeks for an extended period. The US Secretary of State has said the arrangement is meant to clear American borders of non-citizens, who may be removed without being sent to their countries of origin. Opposition spokesperson on youth and human rights, attorney Isad Buchanan, said Jamaica currently lacks the laws and court capacity to process asylum claims properly and that a 14-day transit cap is insufficient to address torture-related fears. He raised concern about Haitian nationals in Portland, Jamaicans removed to third countries such as Eswatini, and two nationals reportedly in St. Kitts, arguing compassion must guide how the island treats displaced people.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Minister Floyd Green told fishers at International Fisherman's Day celebrations that further government support is coming after recent hurricane damage. He said Hurricane Melissa alone cost the fishery sector more than J$5 billion and damaged more than 3,000 vessels, and that grant assistance has already begun.

At a donor reporting breakfast in Kingston, Project STAR founder Keith Duncan said the social transformation programme is here to stay after four years of work in five communities across Kingston and St. Andrew, St. James, and Westmoreland. Project director Saffrey Brown cited improved social stability, economic resilience, and a 57% literacy gain at Kingston Technical High School, with communities identifying weak family structures and male marginalization among priority concerns.

Caracas-based writer Victor Drax Coyoto said survivors of two powerful earthquakes in Venezuela are relying largely on volunteers and first responders, with limited visible support from the army, national guard, or central government. In Jakarta, worsening dry-season air pollution has coincided with reports of respiratory illnesses doubling at some clinics since June, with monitoring data ranking the Indonesian capital among the world's most polluted cities.